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Moscow has stationed more than 100,000 troops near the border
with Ukraine and the United States said on Friday it feared
Russia was preparing a pretext to invade if diplomacy failed to
meet its objectives.
Canada, with a sizeable and politically influential population
of Ukrainian ethnic descent, has taken a hard line with Moscow
since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
"The amassing of Russian troops and equipment in and around
Ukraine jeopardizes security in the entire region. These
aggressive actions must be deterred," Joly said in a statement.
"Canada will work with its international partners to uphold the
rules-based international order."
Joly will meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal and travel
to the west of the country to speak to a 200-strong Canadian
training mission that has been there since 2015.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday and "emphasized that any military
incursion into Ukraine would have serious consequences,
including coordinated sanctions," Trudeau's office said.
Canada has imposed punitive measures on more than 440
individuals and entities over the annexation of Crimea.
Joly, who starts a week-long trip to Europe on Sunday, will
visit Brussels to see NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
She will also go to Paris for talks with French Foreign Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian, the statement said.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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